Muslims must unite to counter Israel: Iran official

A senior Iranian official has singled out the Israeli regime as the main threat to the world, urging Muslim countries to band together to counter this growing peril.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran regards full support for the Islamic resistance against the Zionist regime [of Israel] as a religious and human duty,” Secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani said in a meeting with leaders of the Palestinian groups in Damascus on Tuesday.

He touched upon efforts by certain countries to promote Shiaphobia and said, “While many Sunni states are pursuing the policy of silence vis-à-vis the anti-human crimes by the Zionist regime, Shia Iran has provided the most amount of support for the oppressed Palestinian people.” 

The top official emphasized that Iran would press ahead with supporting the Islamic resistance.

Shamkhani wrapped up a day-long visit to Lebanon and arrived in the Syrian capital, Damascus, at the head of a political delegation on Tuesday. In his talks with senior Syrian and Lebanese officials, he reaffirmed Iran’s support for the two countries.

Syria has been gripped by deadly conflict since 2011. The Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Turkey -- are reportedly backing the militants operating inside Syria.

More than 191,000 people have so far been killed during more than three years of Takfiri violence in the war-ravaged country.

Lebanon has been rocked by the spillover of the conflict in Syria.